is also famed as an actor and director.
was born in Los Angeles to George and Janelle Dolenz, both show business people themselves. By the age of six,
was already doing screen tests, and by the age of ten, he had landed his first role as Corky on
. He toured the country with his elephant "Bimbo" promoting the show, which lasted only three years. During his teenage years, he had seriously begun to develop his musical chops. He was the lead singer in many nightclub bands, including Micky & the One Nighters, which played a lot of
tunes. It was during this period that he recorded his first single, "Huff Puff/Don't Do It," but the record was not released until 1967.
In 1965, he was chosen from 400 applicants to be a member of
the Monkees. He was originally hired as the drummer, but eventually became the lead vocalist. Along with
Davy Jones,
Peter Tork, and
Michael Nesmith,
Dolenz became a teen idol in the mid-'60s and sold more than 60 million records.
The Monkees released a movie and two more albums after their television show ended in 1968. By 1970, it was
Dolenz and
Davy Jones who were touring and performing concerts to promote the group.
Dolenz used his fame as a
Monkee to further his directing career; he had directed one of the
Monkees episodes and several television commercials. He directed several spots for NASA explaining the benefits medicine has received from the space program. The spots featured such famous people as
Charlton Heston, Jesse Jackson,
Frank Sinatra,
Whoopi Goldberg, and
Willie Nelson.
With his distinctive voice,
Dolenz pursued a career doing voices for cartoons, appearing on such Hanna-Barbera shows as
The Funky Fantom and The
Scooby-Doo movies. During this time he also worked on a solo music career, producing such hit singles as "A Lover's Prayer" and "To Be or Not to Be." In 1975,
Dolenz teamed up with songwriters
Tommy Boyce and
Bobby Hart and ex-
Monkee Davy Jones to produce an album and perform on tour. He began touring alone and promoting his solo career singing
Monkees tunes and his own singles.
In 1978, he moved to the U.K. to further pursue his acting and directing careers. He starred in the musical
The Point and made his directing debut with
Story Without a Hero. He stayed in the U.K. for many years, directing such programs as
Fernwood Tonight, with
Martin Mull, and
Luna, a story about a girl living in the future.
With
the Monkees' 20th anniversary approaching,
Dolenz,
Jones, and
Tork began touring in 1986. Because of the success of the tour, they recorded an album, released two videos, and toured for another year. When
Dolenz returned to the United States, he also returned to his own solo career, resuming touring on his own. He produced several children's albums, including
Micky Dolenz Puts You to Sleep, a collection of '60s music produced as lullabies, and
Broadway Micky, a collection of Broadway show tunes. His book
I'm a Believer: My Life of Music, Madness and the Monkees recounts his life as a
Monkee, as a director, and as a solo performer. He toured again with
Peter and
Davy for the 30th anniversary of
the Monkees, which lasted until 1997. In 1998, he returned to his directing career and the other side of the camera.
During the first years of the new millennium,
Dolenz had cameos in
As the World Turns and
The Drew Carey Show, along with doing voice work for
The Powerpuff Girls, which led to a number of voice gigs. In 2005, he joined WCBS-FM as their morning DJ, spending a year there and then turning toward the road and stage in 2006, touring with a revival of
Pippin in 2007.
Dolenz returned to recording in 2010, releasing the Carole King tribute King for a Day -- his first album in 15 years -- in August. Two years later his audio scrapbook of cover songs, Remember, was issued featuring tunes from The Beatles, Harry Nilsson, Chuck Berry and
The Monkees.
–
Kim Summers & Al Campbell, Rovi